County profile
Nelson County, KY
United States · GDP 2024
#1130 of 3,127 US counties by GDP65th-percentile growthmore diversified than 19% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$2.4B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+5.7%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
17,214
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
1,023
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$53.8k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
49,036
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
5.5%
Median HH income
$69.6k±$2.7k
Bachelor's degree+
23.8%±2.0%
Poverty rate
10.8%±1.7%
Business applications
601 · 2025
Retail establishments
165
33.9/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Manufacturing46%
Retail trade15%
Construction13%
Health care12%
Food & accommodation10%
Admin & support5%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
49,036
residents · 2025 · +4.8% since 2020
Income per capita $58.6k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+1,628
International migration+609
Natural change−5
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$1.7B2019
$1.7B2020
$1.9B2021
$2.1B2022
$2.3B2023
$2.4B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$238.0k±$10.1k
Median gross rent
$1.0k/mo±$73/mo
Vacancy rate
5.8%±1.3%
Affordability
4.4× wages
Residential permits
$52.9M
222 units · 4.5/1k pop
FEMA risk score
55.2
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.0k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Strong wind 89Lightning 85Winter weather 75
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
2042016
2202017
2292018
2422019
2512020
2782021
3232022
3502023
3752024
3922025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -29% since 20213132021
3072022
2832023
2102024
2222025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
22.0 km
I-65
Nearest freight rail
1.3 km
RJCR
Nearest port
45.7 km
Louisville-Jefferson Port, KY
Nearest commercial airport
47.4 km
LOUISVILLE MUHAMMAD ALI INTL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$53.8k
avg. annual pay · +25% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Nelson?
Nelson's economy produced $2.4B in 2024, growing 5.7% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is manufacturing.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.